The second wave of The LEGO Ninjago Movie tie-in sets was released on 1st Dec and, following on from our review of 70656 garmadon, Garmadon, GARMADON!, we’re now taking a look at 70632 Quake Mech. Quake Mech is Cole’s method of transport in The LEGO Ninjago Movie and probably the coolest looking vehicle with it’s single wheel and hulk-like chest and arms. This set has 1202 pieces, five minifigures, is rated ages 9-14, and is priced at £79.99 / $79.99 / 79.99€ (which equates to 6.7p / 7.5c / 6.7c per piece). When fully built, the mech measures over 12” (33cm) high, 6” (16cm) long, and 11” (30cm) wide.
There are 8 numbered bags with the single large tractor tyre and its rim rolling free inside the box. A single 164-page instruction booklet and a small sticker sheet completes the contents list.
The stickers in the set aren’t excessive, and the printed tones of black, dark brown, and yellow closely match the parts they are placed on. I would have loved printed tiles instead of course, but as stickers go, these are not too tricky to work with. I was rather focused on building my mech, so you’ll notice I placed all the stickers near the end of the build process.
On opening the box, the huge Tractor Tyre Dia. 107X44 (Part 23798) and its Rim Ø 56 X 34 (Part 15038) were unbagged and looked impressively large as they rolled out. This tyre has only appeared in two other Technic sets in 2016 and 2017 — six were supplied with 42070 6×6 All Terrain Tow Truck and four with 42054 CLAAS XERION 5000 TRAC VC.
Quake Mech includes 5 minifigures: Misako , Crusher, Mike the Spike, Fred Finley, and Cole. Both Misako and Fred Finley are new for this second wave of sets, while the others appeared earlier in the year.
Mike the Spike wears the Shark Army uniform of Sand Blue and Light Bluish Grey. He has a single-sided head as his Dark Blue knitted cap would not cover any reverse print.
The cockpit is the first part of the build. The shoulders use two large Technic turntables to allow stable rotation. A simple play feature is the opening cockpit — a minifigure fits inside easily and the controls are the two records (as per the movie).
The stand is just a few Technic beams and connectors in black. It is easy to pop into position or remove thanks to its simple but effective design.
Play Features
Quake Mech features fully poseable arms and gripping fists that are surprisingly dexterous. The shoulders feature fold-up ‘loudspeakers’ that each contain 4 ‘soundwave’ flick missiles. There’s the opening cockpit where Cole can control the mech by spinning his discs and, finally, you can enjoying rolling him around with the stand removed.
Quake Mech looks very cool and is quite a bit bigger than I thought it would be. The key features of the larger Quake Mech in the actual LEGO Ninjago Movie have all been captured in this model, without suffering from too much shrinkage. There’s plenty of stable upper body movement and the simple stand works very well, somewhat surprisingly for a very top-heavy build.
Apart from our token civilian Fred, the minifigures are not really unique to this set (Crusty and Crusher are close enough to be counted as nearly the same), and may already be in your collection or available in cheaper tie-in sets.
Shark vs Quake
We have reviewed two sets from wave 2 now:
70656 garmadon, Garmadon, GARMADON, 830 pieces, 6 minifigures, £79.99 / $79.99 / 79.99€
70632 Quake Mech, 1202 pieces, 5 minifigures, £79.99 / $79.99 / 79.99€
I have to admit that Quake Mech won me over. Positives for garmadon, Garmadon, GARMADON are the fun little hotdog stand, and the two civilians minifigures. But the lack of play features and the odd legs that are not at all poseable let the set down. While Quake Mech’s minifigures are less inspiring, the superior play features and the really cool appearance makes Quake Mech the winner.